The 6th Circuit Solicitor's Office told WIS Thursday "factual and legal issues" have prevented a 2006 homicide case from going to trial. One of the suspects in the case, 31-year-old Nathaniel AntronMore >>

Why was a man accused of a home invasion in West Columbia allowed to be out on the streets in the first place? That's the question some are asking in the case of Nathaniel Hunter, a man with a long criminalMore >>

Why was a man accused of a home invasion in West Columbia allowed to be out on the streets in the first place? That's the question some are asking in the case of Nathaniel Hunter, a man with a long criminal history and someone who also happened to be out on bond in a murder case.More >>

WEST COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -

The cast on her right hand is one visual reminder of the horror a West Columbia woman says she and her 6-year-old daughter endured in the early morning hours of Sunday, April 13.

"In the end, if I had died, so be it. But as long as she was okay, that was my main goal," she said.

For privacy reasons, we are not identifying the woman, who was shot several times in the upper body.

She tells WIS the bullets missed her vital organs.

"Me and my baby were in the bed together," she said. "I just kind of opened my eyes and when I did, I saw him standing there with a gun, pointing it."

"He instructed me to undress and I said, 'Please, can she go in the living room?' Somewhere where she doesn't have to witness what's about to happen."

She was willing to sacrifice herself so her daughter could be safe. But he turned to target the child after seeing the mother on her menstrual cycle.

"He instructed her to come out the closet and take her clothes off," said the mother. "At that point I already knew what he was about to do. He would have done best to shoot me in the head than for me to sit there and listen to him sexually assault her. It was just running through my mind, 'I can't allow this to happen.'"

So she made a choice and grabbed the gun.

"It was no turning back," she said. "I took all of my weight and put it on him. We actually ended up going from the bedroom into the hallway, into my bathroom. And he just kept repeating 'Let go! Let go! I'm going to shoot you. I'm going to shoot you.' And I just couldn't let go. And that's when he let off with the shots."

She took a risk and fought because her life and her daughter's depended on it.

"I could feel the bullets inside me. I felt like I was going to die," she said.

The day after the attack occurred, she was supposed to start a job at Lexington Medical Center. She lost the job opportunity, but LMC said they will wait until she heals and then they will help her based on what openings they have at that time.

Hunter was out on bond for a 2006 murder at the time of this incident in West Columbia. That 2006 incident was in Fairfield County in December 2006 when Carlon Castillo and Christopher Fuller were killed. Hunter is charged with murder in Castillo's death.

Fairfield County deputies arrested Hunter in January 2007 for first-degree burglary and a weapons charge, but it wasn't until April 2007 that they charged him with murder. According to court documents, Hunter claims his cell-mate in the county jail gave a false statement to investigators, saying Hunter confessed to Castillo's murder, on the same day that an arrest warrant was issued for the murder. That same jail roommate later sent a letter to the Clerk of Court, recanting his statement, saying he lied because he was angry at his cell-mate.

Hunter's murder charge has not gone to trial because of what the solicitor calls "factual and legal issues." No one has been charged in Fuller's death.

Highway Patrol troopers say they are searching for a 2001– 2005 Silver Toyota Sequoia or 2004 – 2005 Toyota Tundra with damage to right front headlight assembly and missing right side mirror. (Source: SCHP)

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is asking for the community’s help in locating a vehicle that was involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash Monday night in Hopkins.